The Peregrine Omnibus Volume One Read Online Free PDF

Trench’s eyes and Max felt relieved. If Trench had heard any of the stories about the Peregrine, he had apparently paid them no heed… or at the very least, was not worried. “In fact, some of your items are clever forgeries. But I’m sure you know that.”
    A corner of Trench’s mouth turned upwards. “Of course. But for some of my customers, these forgeries are the closest they will ever come to being able to afford the items they dream of. I have authentic versions of everything on display here… I merely choose to leave some of them in safer places.”
    “Evelyn and I were just discussing the things we saw last night. Have you given them any thought?”
    Jacob sighed, finally nodding in Evelyn’s direction. It was apparent that he’d been involved in something of interest when Max had entered the store and was now resigning himself to the fact that he would be delayed from returning to it.
    “A bit… but I’m sure you’ll understand if I say that it’s not something I’d like to dwell upon.”
    “You handled yourself far better than most men would have,” Max offered. “I daresay that poor Beauregard would have been beside himself when faced with the undead.”
    Trench glanced past Max, watching as Evelyn occupied herself with a small brass scarab. “Are you a spiritual man, Mr. Davies? Do you believe that someone might have the power to raise the dead and send them forth to ruin someone’s party?”
    “You mentioned that you’d seen zombies before,” Max answered.
    “Yes. Explaining why I’d be so receptive to the notion of the undead. But as for you… just as you thought that most men would have run screaming from the things we saw last evening, I’d expect most men to come up with every excuse possible… other than the obvious: that what we saw was real.” Trench turned his eyes away from Evelyn’s trim form, taking the time to examine Max more closely. “But you seemed quite at ease amongst them. You’ve seen such things before.”
    Max merely shrugged as Evelyn finished her browsing and came up to join them.
    Jacob inclined his head in her direction. “Miss Gould. So wonderful to see you again. Have you found anything in my shop that catches your fancy?”
    “Actually, I think the beetle is quite nice.”
    “The scarab was taken from a Pharaoh’s tomb and is said to be quite cursed.”
    “Do you really believe in such things?” Evelyn asked, her skepticism tinged by the remembrance of what she’d seen the night before.
    “I never put limits on what the world might bring, Miss Gould.” Trench returned his attention to Max. “So… to answer your earlier question, no, I have not thought much about the events of last night. Was there anything else?”
    “Only one thing… I’m interested in acquiring a manuscript. A copy of the Axiomata . Do you think you might have something like that on hand?”
    “Recent copies only,” Trench replied, looking like he was ready to bring the game to an end. “And they are far from accurate, or so I’ve heard. Are you a member of the Fraternity, Mr. Davies?”
    “No, just interested in helping a friend. Beauregard’s copy has gone missing.”
    “How tragic.”
    “Isn’t it?” Max took Evelyn’s arm in his, ignoring the look of confusion on her face. It was obvious that she was curious as to the real reason behind their visit to the store, but Max knew she was smart enough to hold her questions for later. “See you around, Jacob. Let me know if you happen to stumble across a copy of the Axiomata , won’t you?”
    Trench watched in silence as Max and Evelyn left the store, though he crossed over to a window and peeked beneath the blinds, following them with his eyes until they turned the corner and were out of sight.
    “You should have dealt with him before now,” a heavily accented voice said from behind.
    Trench glanced back at the aged form of K’ntu, noting that the old man looked the same today as he had during their first